1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synchronization of cameras, and more particularly to the synchronization of a mode-locked oscillator-amplifier dye laser with a streak camera detection system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years picosecond laser systems have been developed which use dye laser amplifiers to increase the energy of continous wave (cw) mode-locked dye lasers from kilowatt to gigawatt peak powers. These laser systems combine the features of the tunability of cw mode-locked dye lasers with the high energies of solid state lasers. The use of an ultrafast streak camera system with such a laser system provides a powerful tool to study time-resolved spectroscopy, in particular luminescent events such as florescence depolarization, semiconductor processes or vibrational relaxation on a picosecond timescale. The operation of this complex system requires the synchronization of the various optical and electronic components in order to both initiate and record the ultrafast event with the optimum spectral and temporal resolution.